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georgelicks

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GasLightStreet
There's really nothing on the other side? That's stupid!

Who cares about a vinyl single nowadays? We're on 2006 not 1966.
Its a collector item, priced very high to collect easy money from vinyl fans.

People that buy vinyl! What, you don't have any love for the B-side?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2016-11-25 23:59 by GasLightStreet.

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GasLightStreet

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georgelicks

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GasLightStreet
There's really nothing on the other side? That's stupid!

Who cares about a vinyl single nowadays? We're on 2006 not 1966.
Its a collector item, priced very high to collect easy money from vinyl fans.

People that by vinyl! What, you don't have any love for the B-side?

Oh I Do Like To See Me On The 'B' Side





Thanks, Deltics!

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powerage78
"The Stones are more impressive on the fast tracks than on the slower ones, due to the absence of a remarkable soloist in the band".

Yes that's how I interpreted the translation.
But the writer then says: "The emergence of Eric Clapton on guitar on two songs propels the slow blues to the spheres that the group never reached since the departure of Mick Taylor in 1974".
So they're impressive on the fast ones and slow ones (?)...with Clapton propelling them to the greatest they've been since MT left in '74 (?).
Anyways, a bit confusing if not contradictory. Or maybe it's just me confused in the aftermath of overindulging in Turkey and the rest of Thanksgiving Day grub.

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powerage78
"The Stones are more impressive on the fast tracks than on the slower ones, due to the absence of a remarkable soloist in the band".

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Hairball

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powerage78
[www.lefigaro.fr]

------------------

Google traduction


September 29, Don Was revealed us , in a world first, the content of the first studio album recorded by British group from A Bigger Bang in 2005. Title Blue and Lonesome, it was etched in the London studio of Mark Knopfler. Since Aftermath, in 1966, the group has devoted itself to building an original repertoire. On Blue and Lonesome, Jagger, Richards and Charlie Watts reconnect with their past blues bands. A side step sketched while the Stones were completing original compositions. The twelve titles of the album originate from the 1950s and 1960s, with particular emphasis on the Chicago scene of the time.
Upon first listen, the quality of harmonica playing of Mick Jagger jumps ears. Keith Richards once said about his enemy brother he was never as sincere as when blowing into the instrument. Present on almost all of the album, the harmonica is the undisputed star of the case.

It is refreshing to hear the seven-year-olds applying to reproduce the music that has so much influenced them in their early days. The relatively small instrumentation (2 guitars, bass, drums and piano) evokes the sound of the Chess label, that of Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry and Howlin 'Wolf in their infancy. The saturation applied on the whole disc spoils quickly listening to the disc, made artificial by this process. The band played this album live, in the same room, which he had not done for a very long time.

A real record of old men

Few standards on this disc with several pearls of Little Walter repertoire, including the title track Blue and Lonesome, from Howlin 'Wolf (two titles, which are among the best of the selection), Magic Sam, Eddie Taylor and Otis Rush between other. The Stones are more impressive on the fast tracks than on the strolls, due to the absence of a soloist scoring in their ranks.

The emergence of Eric Clapton on guitar on two songs propels the slow blues to the spheres that the group never reached since the departure of Mick Taylor in 1974. The guitar hero, near the Stones since the early 1960s, is one of the two guests of the project with drummer Jim Keltner, credited for the first time on one of their records.

Application of the group makes it even nicer drive than anything he has produced since the correct Voodoo Lounge in 1994. Concerned and applied, the musicians found a simplicity that was lacking some of their overproduced albums, on which They seemed to run after the trends. By designing a real old record, Jagger and his accomplices seem to make peace with their inheritance. Who would have said, while paying tribute to their idols in the British Blues Boom, that they would continue to do so largely after the age of their favorite bluesmen ?

Thanks powerage for the google translation!

"It is refreshing to hear the seven-year-olds applying to reproduce the music that has so much influenced them in their early days".


The writer seems to somewhat contradict himself below, maybe due to the translation?
He seems to say the fast tracks are better due to no solos, but then says the slower tunes are the best because of the solos.

"The Stones are more impressive on the fast tracks than on the strolls, due to the absence of a soloist scoring in their ranks".

"The emergence of Eric Clapton on guitar on two songs propels the slow blues to the spheres that the group never reached since the departure of Mick Taylor in 1974".

At any rate, I agree with the Mick Taylor comment.

"...the musicians found a simplicity that was lacking some of their overproduced albums, on which They seemed to run after the trends".

Hallelulujah!

_____________________________________________________________
Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......

I prefer the slower cuts. And the solos with Clapton are not all him, they are more like weaving, duo solos.

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mpj200
I prefer the slower cuts. And the solos with Clapton are not all him, they are more like weaving, duo solos.

C'mon Mpj...tell us some more!

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Spud
Each & every one of these reviews [good & bad alike] is complete drivel !

[Just my opinion & review of the reviews you understand ]

In review of this post, I give you 5 STARS!!!

_____________________________________________________________
Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......

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Cristiano Radtke

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GasLightStreet

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georgelicks

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GasLightStreet
There's really nothing on the other side? That's stupid!

Who cares about a vinyl single nowadays? We're on 2006 not 1966.
Its a collector item, priced very high to collect easy money from vinyl fans.

People that by vinyl! What, you don't have any love for the B-side?

Oh I Do Like To See Me On The 'B' Side





Thanks, Deltics!

[www.youtube.com]







"As we say in England, it can get a bit trainspottery"



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2016-11-25 23:09 by Deltics.

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GasLightStreet
There's really nothing on the other side? That's stupid!

That's really something!

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Thommie

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GasLightStreet
There's really nothing on the other side? That's stupid!

That's really something!

Yes it's ridiculous!
At the very least they could have put an instrumental version on the B-side - what the heck?!!!

_____________________________________________________________
Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......

Blue & Lonesome, The Rolling Stones
Purists be damned — the Stones have rediscovered their soul
Will Hodgkinson
November 26 2016, 12:01am, The Times

Jagger has a way of inhabiting the blues better than any other white singer
MARK RALSTON/GETTY IMAGES

4 stars out of 5

The Rolling Stones have just made their best album since 1978’s Some Girls.

Dedicated Stones watchers will read that bold statement as faint praise, given that the band followed their initial 14-year run of thrilling, game-changing albums with another 30 years of increasingly lacklustre ones, but it is a huge achievement nonetheless. Blue & Lonesome is the first Stones studio album since 2005’s A Bigger Bang and it consists entirely of the kind of Chicago blues songs Mick Jagger and Keith Richards first bonded over during their famous meeting at Dartford railway station on October 17, 1961. This covers album is less a retrograde step; more a reclaiming of the band’s soul.

It went wrong for the Stones when they started sounding like technology — and trends were leading them rather than the other way round. The joy of Blue & Lonesome is the way the band ignores whatever has been going on for the past 50 years. Popular wisdom has it that Keith Richards is the Stones’ bluesy heart and Mick Jagger its red-trousers-wearing fashion victim, but it is Jagger’s voice that brings these songs alive. “Aaaaall your love . . . can it be mine?” he wails against Richards’ fantastically lazy guitar on Magic Sam’s All Of Your Love, and you realise Jagger has a way of inhabiting the blues better than any other white singer, bringing out the sensuality, the amorality, the evil, even.

Jagger’s harmonica is pretty damn fantastic, too. There’s a sustained note towards the end of his rendition of Little Walter’s Hate To See You Go that sounds like a descent into Hell, while he blows through Lightnin’ Slim’s Hoodoo Blues with sustained menace. Jagger’s genius is in doing an imitation of black American music that is thoroughly white and English. If Brian Jones had had his way the Stones would have remained blues purists, but Jagger, Richards and Andrew Loog Oldham, then their manager, had other ideas and turned the band into a songwriting machine. Now, years later, Jagger is coming back to the blues with an insouciance that suggests he isn’t going to lose much sleep worrying about what the purists think.

What keeps the Stones a fantastic live act is their looseness. Unlike almost every other stadium act, they play in the moment, missed beats and all, and Blue & Lonesome is similarly imperfect. Charlie Watts’s drumming on Willie Dixon’s Just Like I Treat You is positively unhinged, while Richards turns in some gloriously louche guitar on Jimmy Reed’s Little Rain; twelve-bar blues reduced to a primordial crawl. It’s not a perfect album, and on the opener, Just Your Fool, the Stones could be any competent blues covers band in any theme bar the world over, but it’s the spirit of Blue & Lonesome that shines through. To hear the Stones go back to the music they love, and to be so confident and unapologetic about it, is a joy.

[www.thetimes.co.uk]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2016-11-26 03:28 by Cristiano Radtke.

Thanks for the post, Cristiano. Another great review!

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Ross
Thanks for the post, Cristiano. Another great review!

Wait. I thought all the reviews were complete drivel??

And this one; only 4 out of 5 stars????

And "It’s not a perfect album"???

WTF???

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Rokyfan

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Ross
Thanks for the post, Cristiano. Another great review!

Wait. I thought all the reviews were complete drivel??

And this one; only 4 out of 5 stars????

And "It’s not a perfect album"???

WTF???

If it were a perfect album it would deserve 5 out of 5.

You guys are killing me reviewing it before the whole release.
It's going to take me a few weeks after Dec. 2nd FULL RELEASE,
Need Full Release! (Full release baby, hmm maybe a new song there w/ phrase)
I am going to then have to come back here and slog thru this,
anyway,
Cheers --

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35love
You guys are killing me reviewing it before the whole release.
It's going to take me a few weeks after Dec. 2nd FULL RELEASE,
Need Full Release! (Full release baby, hmm maybe a new song there w/ phrase)
I am going to then have to come back here and slog thru this,
anyway,
Cheers --

____________________________


Lol .. I whole heartadly agree ... Ya can't review anything until you've heard it... <all of it>.. or hell AT LEAST most of it smh. I'm with you .. I need two weeks to seriously know how I feel about an album.. it has to settle in (in many cases). That goes for the whole friggin thing.. played start to completion (not simply a few tracks).


At any rate ... Just keep in mind there are a few short comments (not really any sort of reviews) from one or two people here who have actually heard the whole album.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2016-11-26 06:46 by IanBillen.

What makes this album unique is not just the fact that it's blues covers, but the way it was recorded. Live. And this created a different vibe and mix than the usual records where Mick and Keith lay the foundation, and everyone else falls in and sprinkles their bit on top.

This is a true band album. And if you are OK that it's all blues covers, it probably is their best since Some Girls.

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mpj200
What makes this album unique is not just the fact that it's blues covers, but the way it was recorded. Live. And this created a different vibe and mix than the usual records where Mick and Keith lay the foundation, and everyone else falls in and sprinkles their bit on top.

This is a true band album. And if you are OK that it's all blues covers, it probably is their best since Some Girls.

I missed 'their best album since Exile/Some Girls/Tattoo You'!!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2016-11-26 08:06 by KRiffhard.

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KRiffhard

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mpj200
What makes this album unique is not just the fact that it's blues covers, but the way it was recorded. Live. And this created a different vibe and mix than the usual records where Mick and Keith lay the foundation, and everyone else falls in and sprinkles their bit on top.

This is a true band album. And if you are OK that it's all blues covers, it probably is their best since Some Girls.

I missed 'their best album since Exile/Some Girls/Tattoo You'!!

-



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2016-11-26 12:41 by maumau.

Maybe this album turns out better than I thought. Hm. But the production? Nah. Too much loudness war going on. I really wish theyd done this live like they did but first find the perfect studio, cellar or garage and dont turn up everything to the max. And Mick seriously should try to let himself go and try to express something. He plays a great harmonica though. 3/5.

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Redhotcarpet
Maybe this album turns out better than I thought. Hm. But the production? Nah. Too much loudness war going on. I really wish theyd done this live like they did but first find the perfect studio, cellar or garage and dont turn up everything to the max. And Mick seriously should try to let himself go and try to express something. He plays a great harmonica though. 3/5.

Redhot have you used the whole album? Six more days!!

The three songs I´ve heard so far are recorded/mixed/whatever so loud that they are sometimes heavily distorted. That´s most unenjoyable.

I´m afraid all of the songs will turn out to sound that way. Musically the songs are very good and Mick´s singing is amazing. After all that overacted singing-posing on the last couple of albums I didn´t knew that he actually still can sing in a "normal way".

But: Their best album since Some Girls? Never. This is all covers, no originals. It seems to be well done but just like Crosseyed Heart it isn´t Manna from heaven. Maybe it will be boring to listen to it, 12 more or less similar songs in a row. Always the harmonica, always the singing & breathing-at-the-same-time vocal gimmick, always the distorted guitars, I really don´t know.... I like the three songs we´ve heard so far, but basically it´s all just the same... not much variety.

Best album since Some Girls, btw, of course is DW.

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HMS
The three songs I´ve heard so far are recorded/mixed/whatever so loud that they are sometimes heavily distorted. That´s most unenjoyable.

I´m afraid all of the songs will turn out to sound that way. Musically the songs are very good and Mick´s singing is amazing. After all that overacted singing-posing on the last couple of albums I didn´t knew that he actually still can sing in a "normal way".

But: Their best album since Some Girls? Never. This is all covers, no originals. It seems to be well done but just like Crosseyed Heart it isn´t Manna from heaven. Maybe it will be boring to listen to it, 12 more or less similar songs in a row. Always the harmonica, always the singing & breathing-at-the-same-time vocal gimmick, always the distorted guitars, I really don´t know.... I like the three songs we´ve heard so far, but basically it´s all just the same... not much variety.

Best album since Some Girls, btw, of course is DW.

My hope all along is that Blue and Lonesome will be solid and a lot of fun to listen to!! I really like Hate To a See You Go so far. Production wise TBD but always weary of overproduction by Jagger/Was.

But also a prelude to a 2017 album of new originals. It won't be easy, Keith is already getting aggravated with Mick as we have recently seen..haha

**Just gave a Ride Em On Down the headphone treatment, and it is a treat!! Great and gritty, and Charlie is excellent. I like it yes I do.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2016-11-27 12:37 by Maindefender.

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Rokyfan

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Ross
Thanks for the post, Cristiano. Another great review!

Wait. I thought all the reviews were complete drivel??

And this one; only 4 out of 5 stars????

And "It’s not a perfect album"???

WTF???

I never said the reviews were complete drivel, that was someone else. I am enjoying them.

[tempsreel.nouvelobs.com]

Help, we listened to the new record of the Rolling Stones

After a rather heavy appetite, the Stones unveil their latest album, "Lonesome & Blue". We listened to him, and we got bored.

Sorry, it's military, but it is the orders of the international ... "Twenty journalists have just been confiscated their laptop, Ipad or computer.That is the anti-piratage instruction.This Monday afternoon we Are invited to listen to "Lonesome & Blue", Universal's new album "Rolling Stones." In a small room on the sixth floor, like a classroom, we sit quietly in four rows with a white A big dustbin We have obediently signed the card whereby we accept to observe the embargo which forbids us to talk about the album before November 25. Listening begins.

Let's not forget that we are talking about a group whose last song, "Miss You", dates back to 1978. Summary of previous episodes: in the 60s, the Stones, the British fed Howlin'Wolf, Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters, are rediscovering the blues in America. Back to basics? Flea market? Latest release? The album contains twelve covers of blues (including four from Little Walter) and would like to close the loop. But the result feels less the delta than the lambda. Less crossroad than the dead end.

Authentic and full of tics, less Yin than Yang, more Keith than Mick, "Lonesome & Blue" leaves you lonesome and blue. Now, when they play, the Rolling Stones give the impression of being bored almost as much as we listen to them. This is obvious since the documentary "Shine A Light" by Scorsese (2008), where they seemed to play less music than taking the subway during rush hour.

Stop the massacre

On "Lonesome & Blue", the sound is artistically and irreproachably dirty; Eric Clapton makes two appearances; Pianist Matt Clifford plays the role of the late Nicky Hopkins; "Just Like I Treat You" is reminiscent of "It's All Over Now" under Prozac. And then ... and then, there it is, the blues overwhelms you, suffocates you, saturates you. As if you needed to hear "Hoo Doo Blues" in your ear, after Trump and the "conservative wave" that françois-fillonne tout va.

The phlegmatic, marmoreal, professional face, you are sitting on your chair in the small Universal listening room. But while Jagger -in "Tradi" mode- sings you "I Gotta Go" from Little Walter, you're looking for a nervous and sneaky emergency exit.

Around you, purists prefer to show themselves philosophers or tactics. Better fadasses than new compositions, they tell you. An elegant way to say: stop the massacre, stop to self-destruction. It is noted that the Stones resume "Commit A Crime" by Howlin 'Wolf. Which suggests that Jagger recently assassinated "Come Together" of the Beatles at the festival of Desert Trip. Here, it confirms its excellence to the harmonica. But, in fact of british blues, nothing, ladies, gentlemen, which equals "Ventilator Blues" (Exile On Main Street), in this twilight exercise of the Rolling Zombies.

Fabrice Pliskin

-----------------------------------------

Au secours, on a écouté le nouveau disque des Rolling Stones

Après nous avoir assez lourdement mis en appétit, les Stones dévoilent ce vendredi leur dernier opus, "Lonesome & Blue". On l'a écouté, et on s'est ennuyé.

Désolé, c’est militaire, mais c’est les consignes de l’international…" Vingt journalistes viennent de se faire confisquer leur portable, Ipad ou ordinateur. Telle est la consigne anti-piratage. Ce lundi après-midi-là, nous sommes conviés à écouter "Lonesome & Blue", le nouvel album des Rolling Stones, chez Universal. Dans une petite pièce du sixième étage, semblable à une salle de classe, nous sommes sagement assis sur quatre rangées, avec vue sur un mur blanc et une grosse poubelle. Nous avons docilement signé la fiche par laquelle nous acceptons d'observer l'embargo qui nous interdit de parler de l'album avant le 25 novembre. L’écoute commence.

Ne l’oublions pas : nous parlons d’un groupe dont la dernière bonne chanson, "Miss You", date de 1978. Résumé des épisodes précédents : dans les années 60, les Stones, ces britanniques nourris de Howlin’Wolf, de Robert Johnson et de Muddy Waters, font redécouvrir le blues à l’Amérique. Retour aux sources ? Brocante ? Dernière démarque ? L’album contient douze reprises de blues (dont quatre de Little Walter) et voudrait boucler la boucle. Mais le résultat sent moins le delta que le lambda. Moins le crossroad que l'impasse.

Authentique et plein de tics, moins Yin que Yang, plus Keith que Mick, "Lonesome & Blue" vous laisse lonesome et blue. Désormais, quand ils jouent, les Rolling Stones donnent l'impression de s'ennuyer presque autant que nous en les écoutant. C'est patent depuis le documentaire "Shine A Light" de Scorsese (2008), où ils semblaient moins jouer de la musique que prendre le métro à l'heure de pointe.

Arrêtez le massacre

Sur "Lonesome & Blue", le son est artistement et irréprochablement sale ; Eric Clapton fait deux apparitions ; le pianiste Matt Clifford joue le rôle de feu Nicky Hopkins ; "Just Like I Treat You" n’est pas sans rappeler un "It’s All Over Now" sous Prozac. Et puis... et puis, ça y est, le blues vous submerge, vous suffoque, vous sature. Comme si vous aviez besoin qu'on vous ulule des "Hoo Doo Blues" à l'oreille, après Trump et la "vague conservatrice" qui françois-fillonne à tout va.

Le visage flegmatique, marmoréen, professionnel, vous êtes assis sur votre fauteuil dans la petite salle d'écoute Universal. Mais tandis que Jagger -en mode "tradi- vous chante "I Gotta Go" de Little Walter, vous cherchez d'un oeil nerveux et sournois la sortie de secours.

Autour de vous, les puristes préfèrent se montrer philosophes ou tactiques. Mieux vaut des reprises fadasses que de nouvelles compositions, vous disent-ils. Une façon élégante de dire : arrêtez le massacre, stop à l'auto-destruction. On note d’ailleurs que les Stones reprennent "Commit A Crime" de Howlin’ Wolf. Ce qui fait penser que Jagger a récemment assassiné "Come Together" des Beatles au festival de Desert Trip. Ici, il confirme son excellence à l'harmonica. Mais, en fait de british blues, rien, mesdames, messieurs, qui égale "Ventilator Blues" (Exile On Main Street), dans cet exercice crépusculaire des Rolling Zombies.

Fabrice Pliskin

***
I'm just a Bad Boy Boogie



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2016-11-26 16:34 by powerage78.

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Ross

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Rokyfan

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Ross
Thanks for the post, Cristiano. Another great review!

Wait. I thought all the reviews were complete drivel??

And this one; only 4 out of 5 stars????

And "It’s not a perfect album"???

WTF???

I never said the reviews were complete drivel, that was someone else. I am enjoying them.

So am I, I just used your post to mock what others were saying, not you. I like reading what these reviewers have to say, not the stars, which i could not care less about, but their comments about the music, good or bad. They makes me want to hear the album.

"Blue and Lonesome", the Stones and their passion for Chicago


Eleven years after their last studio album, the never-ending Rolling Stones return with "Blue and Lonesone", in the boxes on December 2, a record of rehearsals of standards of the Chicago blues who nourished their music.
Blues but not just any one: the one that took off in Chicago in the 50s by connecting the guitars to electricity, paving the way for rock'n roll. His emblematic figures are called Little Walter, Eddie Taylor, Howlin 'Wolf, Magic Sam, Jimmy Reed, Willie Dixon, Muddy Waters ...

In order to close the loop, the British veterans decided to take back the songs that made them vibrate when they broke out in the early 1960s in pubs in West London. Twelve tracks, recorded in just three days in December 2015, at the British Grove Studios, not far from the clubs of their debut. Originally, however, this 23rd album had to be that of new compositions, a decade after dispensable "A Bigger Bang". But in the studio the inspiration struggles to rise. Keith Richards, who had just released two months earlier his third solo album, the bluesy "Crosseyed Heart", offers his partners to play "Blue and Lonesome" by Little Walter. "It's a great piece to warm up in a studio or when you're drying a song," the NY Times guitarist told Bandana and the Rings of the Dead. "We play it, it sounds great and that's where Mick tells Howlin 'Wolf. And it took off like that."

Little Walter, great harmonicist

The spontaneity is palpable listening to these pieces, which necessarily sound a little more electric than the original versions. Sound, on the other hand, is far from clean. Perhaps a desire to restore the atmosphere of West Chicago clubs where heat counts more than acoustics. There is however a production behind this record, especially by Don Was who has been accompanying the band for over twenty years. It is essentially effective on Mick Jagger's 73-year-old tired (tired?) Voice.

But in this session, the singer shows a real talent to the harmonica, very present on the covers of Little Walter. The four songs of this ephemeral blues genius, who died at the age of 38 in Chicago in 1968 after a street fight, proved to be the best: "Just Your Fool", "Blue And Lonesome", "I Gotta Go" And "Hate To See You Go". If there is a benefit to this album, it is to give desire to (re) discover this harmonicist without peer. On these songs, the Stones convince.

But if Little Johnny Taylor's "Everything Knows About My Good Thing", on which Eric Clapton was invited to recall his guitar dexterity by hand, is another achievement, the other half of the album leaves a less imperishable memory. Nevertheless, on each piece, punctuated with small cymbal shots of the metronome Charlie Watts, 75 years, there is like freshness found among the Londoners. "The songs sound perfectly authentic, we played exactly like a Chicago band," says 72-year-old Keith Richards. To the point of defending them on stage in 2017? "In a stadium, it will be difficult to do," says Jagger. "Maybe in a small club, if we were asked to play softly - if at all possible, we could probably do it."

____________________________________________

"Blue and Lonesome", les Stones et leur passion pour Chicago

Par Culturebox (avec AFP) @Culturebox
Publié le 26/11/2016 à 11H20

Retour aux sources et bain de jouvence : onze ans après leur dernier album studio, les inusables Rolling Stones reviennent avec "Blue and Lonesone", dans les bacs le 2 décembre, un disque de reprises de standards du Chicago blues qui a nourri leur musique.
Du blues mais pas n'importe lequel : celui qui a pris son essor à Chicago dans les années 50 en raccordant les guitares à l'électricité, ouvrant la voie au rock'n roll. Ses figures emblématiques se nomment alors Little Walter, Eddie Taylor, Howlin' Wolf, Magic Sam, Jimmy Reed, Willie Dixon, Muddy Waters...

Afin de boucler la boucle, les vétérans britanniques ont donc décidé de reprendre les chansons qui les faisaient vibrer gamins lorsqu'ils s'escrimaient au début des années 60 dans les pubs de l'ouest londonien. Soient douze titres, enregistrés en à peine trois jours en décembre 2015, aux British Grove Studios, non loin justement des clubs de leurs débuts. A l'origine, pourtant, ce 23e album devait être celui de compositions nouvelles, une décennie après le dispensable "A Bigger Bang". Mais en studio l'inspiration peine à monter. Keith Richards, qui venait de sortir deux mois plus tôt son troisième album solo, le bluesy "Crosseyed Heart", propose alors à ses partenaires de jouer "Blue and Lonesome", de Little Walter. "C'est un super morceau pour s'échauffer en studio ou quand on sèche sur une chanson", raconte au NY Times le guitariste au bandana et aux bagues de têtes de morts. "Nous le jouons, ça sonne super bien et c'est là que Mick nous dit faisons Howlin' Wolf. Et ça a décollé comme ça."

Little Walter, génial harmoniciste

La spontanéité est palpable à l'écoute de ces morceaux, qui sonnent forcément un peu plus électriques que les versions originelles. Le son, en revanche, est loin d'être propre. Peut-être une volonté de restituer l'ambiance des clubs du West Chicago où la chaleur compte plus que l'acoustique. Il y a pourtant une production derrière ce disque, notamment assurée par Don Was qui accompagne le groupe depuis plus de vingt ans. Elle est essentiellement effective sur la voix trafiquée (fatiguée ?) de Mick Jagger, 73 ans.

Mais dans cette session, le chanteur montre un réel talent à l'harmonica, très présent sur les reprises de Little Walter. Les quatre chansons de ce génie éphémère du blues, décédé à 38 ans, en 1968 à Chicago, après une bagarre de rue, s'avèrent être les meilleures: "Just Your Fool", "Blue And Lonesome", "I Gotta Go" et "Hate To See You Go". S'il y a un bienfait à cet album, c'est de donner envie de (re)découvrir cet harmoniciste hors pair. Sur ces chansons, les Stones convainquent.

Mais si "Everything Knows About My Good Thing" de Little Johnny Taylor, sur lequel Eric Clapton a été invité à rappeler sa dextérité guitare à la main, est une autre réussite, l'autre moitié de l'album laisse un souvenir moins impérissable. Néanmoins, sur chaque morceau, ponctué de petits coups de cymbales du métronome Charlie Watts, 75 ans, il y a comme une fraicheur retrouvée chez les Londoniens. "Les chansons sonnent parfaitement authentiques, nous avons joué exactement comme un groupe de Chicago", se félicite Keith Richards, 72 ans. Au point de les défendre sur scène en 2017 ? "Dans un stade, ce sera difficile à faire", estime Jagger. "Peut-être que dans un petit club, si on nous demandait de jouer doucement - enfin si c'est possible-, nous pourrions probablement le faire."

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I'm just a Bad Boy Boogie



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2016-11-26 16:51 by powerage78.

It looks like many journalists are not getting the new album, or they never heard a blues album before, of course that a blues album is repetitive, and doing a blues album in 2016 is so out of time with current times than some people are expecting a new Miss You, time is not on their side anymore for creative purpose since a LONG time ago.

[www.theguardian.com]

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HMS
The three songs I´ve heard so far are recorded/mixed/whatever so loud that they are sometimes heavily distorted. That´s most unenjoyable.

I´m afraid all of the songs will turn out to sound that way. Musically the songs are very good and Mick´s singing is amazing. After all that overacted singing-posing on the last couple of albums I didn´t knew that he actually still can sing in a "normal way".

But: Their best album since Some Girls? Never. This is all covers, no originals. It seems to be well done but just like Crosseyed Heart it isn´t Manna from heaven. Maybe it will be boring to listen to it, 12 more or less similar songs in a row. Always the harmonica, always the singing & breathing-at-the-same-time vocal gimmick, always the distorted guitars, I really don´t know.... I like the three songs we´ve heard so far, but basically it´s all just the same... not much variety.

Best album since Some Girls, btw, of course is DW.

Spot on. Not about DW but the rest.

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georgelicks
It looks like many journalists are not getting the new album, or they never heard a blues album before, of course that a blues album is repetitive, and doing a blues album in 2016 is so out of time with current times than some people are expecting a new Miss You, time is not on their side anymore for creative purpose since a LONG time ago.

so you have heard it?